Name: Leah Barylsky
Where are you living: Los Angeles, CA
What you do: Director/Cinematographer
Follow along: @vaultprod_ @leahbarylsky
What was your emotional connection with the project? What did you feel about it?
The colour scheme of Rouse really navigated this edit. I wanted to showcase the pinks and red hues of some of my work and moments I’ve captured over the course of the last two years.
What does Rouse mean to you?
Rouse is romance to me. It’s looking across the table from the one you love. Rouse embodies sitting around the table drinking cocktails made from the bottle with all of your favourite people and feeling so in love and present with the moment.
How did you bring your “Rouse” experience to the clip?
I combed through my footage to find the moments that felt romantic to me - the ones that sparked me into remembering the softness and sensuality of it. I wanted this edit to feel playful which I feel is a huge component to the experience of Rouse.
Who were the subjects in the clip and why do they embody Feels Rouse?
A lot of my dear friends are in this edit as well as my partner Zilla, they are my favourite subjects and who I want to always remember through film.
The most memorable and moving moment on that shoot?
It was less of a shoot and more of a collection from moments in my life the past two years, so every moment in this edit feels memorable and significant in its own way. One that sticks out to me is my childhood friend, Calla playing the piano on a rainy day in Hawaii. It was a lazy day inside and she kept playing these hauntingly beautiful melodies on the old keyboard.
You’ve said you’re a romantic at heart. During your creative process, what role does feeling and logic play? Is one more important than the other?
My perception of life has always been so heavily romantic and I feel as I get older my approach becomes more logical. Perhaps this is just the evolution of getting older and spending more time in your craft. Feeling is hands down more important than logic, but I think the key is finding the balance in both logic and feeling. In my eyes, the best work an artist can do is feeling based.
What were your sensorial experiences with the brand, the product, the creative process…
Having worked with Feels for almost two years now, I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy each of the four bottles - having my friends and family taste each one, sitting around the table and playing games over a few Feels cocktails, filming on the Big Island of Hawaii over the lava rocks, etc. The sensorial memories are endless! As a cinematographer fantasising about what that looks like visually and building out what the possibilities are, is what draws me to Feels. I currently have all four bottles in my house lined up by a vase full of baby breath flowers and although each bottle has about a drink or two left in them, every time I gaze at them I have a flood of memories within each bottle.
How has working on this project inspired, challenged and pushed your approach to your work?
It was challenging for me to make an edit on myself and try not to critique too heavily what I was trying to convey. If it were up to me it would take me years and years to be satisfied with a piece about myself, which I feel is the case for most artists at times in their careers.
My favourite way to drink Feels Rouse is...
on the rocks or with some topo chico!
When I’m drinking Rouse on the rocks, I set the mood with this song:
Two Voices - Michael David or Quiet Village - Don Telling’s Island Mysteries. These songs are on my heavy rotation right now!